Having an Appropriate Copier/Printer Ratio

One of the items that seem to really confuse companies is this question … “What is the right ratio of printers and copiers for this company?”

If you would like some simplicity, this post may not be exactly what you are looking for. This question grows in complexity as more and more details are considered. One of the best exercises though, is learning how people are doing their work and making a mix that maximizes productivity and reduces costs as much as possible. Some starting questions which will help you out…

1) Interview your people to see how many times they go to a copier on average and then see what they do when they get there. For me, I probably go to one about 3 times a day and it is almost always a scan to E mail function I need. So, I personally use the copier for scanning. If you are going to purchase copiers which have scanning capability, one of those should be closer to me than someone who only scans once a month.

2) When making copies, what percentage is tabloid. Studies show that only 2% of all total copies are tabloid. The people who use tabloid (engineers, accounting at times, etc…) should have close access to a tabloid capable copier unless they only print that way and already have a tabloid capable printer close by.

3) Everyone SHOULD NOT have a printer on their desk unless one of the following conditions exist… A) They print at least 4,000 pages per month B) The are disabled C) They are in power and tell you that is the way it’s going to be or D) They are in a speciality application like Marketing where the device they use need very specific settings and you don’t want those to change.

4) It is not always cheaper to print on a copier, so having all printers go away is generally a bad idea. It spreads the fleet out too far and people spend half the day walking to copiers and chatting to co-workers along the way than just getting work done.

If you start with some questions around the office like this, we can help you with strategic placements and maximum efficiencies if you are here in the Denver/Front Range area.